A Magic Conundrum
by Blewin
Summary: Natsu and Lucy leave the guild in search of the missing Gray. Meanwhile, things are brewing between Erza and the new council. Is there a connection between Gray's disappearance and anything else? Core team and Juvia. Be alert for manga spoiler.
1. Gray

**Gray**

_Icy wind sent shivers up her spine. Lucy hugged herself as she trekked along with her companions. She still felt cold despite the thick coat she wore. The three of them had almost reached the end of the trail that wound through the pass of snow-capped mountains. Winter was closing in and the weather showed its change of mood in its breath. The trees had shed their leaves and turned into skeletal specters. In a month's time, this trail would be impassible, clogged with snow. _

_The wind tugged at Lucy's gold curls. Happy had buried himself in Natsu's scarf. The Dragonslayer's steps were sure. The temperature wasn't cold enough to batter through his tough body. Thinking of that, Lucy remembered how he had walked through a snowstorm when they had their first adventure together, searching for Romeo's father, Macau. He dressed the same as he did now, with the thick dragon-scaled like scarf looking somewhat strange alongside the sleeveless jacket he wore. _

_Lucy sighed. Her thought drifted back to the present. "I'm happy you only managed to destroy a mansion this time, else the money we warn is never enough to cover for the damages you cause."_

"_What does it matter?" Natsu said with a huge grin. "We got the job done."_

"_And we destroyed the government's office too," Happy cut in._

"_The government's __office?" Lucy said, her eyes widening as she numbly repeated Happy's words._

"_Aye!"_

"_Not aye!" she howled. They had chased the culprit into a random building and she had not the time to check her surrounding. She cocked her head with a dazed look on her face, not that she could have stopped Natsu in time anyway. That guy, with an intensely childish look, was bent on taking revenge for being outsmarted by the culprit over a puzzle. _

_Lucy checked herself, suddenly realising someone was missing. She turned around. Gray had fallen behind. _

"_What's up Gray?"_

_The ice mage did not reply. Deep in thought, he halted his steps, his gaze on something down below. Lucy's gaze followed his. A lone house sat at the foot of the mountain._

_Gray abruptly moved, walking past Natsu and taking the lead._

"_Hey, I'm not gonna lose to you!" Natsu called, true to his competitive nature, and quickened his pace._

"_Wait up you two!" Lucy shouted, hurrying after them._

_It was a run-down house. In its derelict state, one sneeze seemed to be enough to break its brittle-looking timber apart. Gray stood in front of the house, staring at it with a faraway look in his eyes._

"_Oh, what's this?" Natsu said, oblivious to Gray's unusual behaviour. He walked up to the door and pushed it open. Surprisingly, the door did not break at his touch. It squeaked open on rusty hinges._

_The flame mage gave a loud sneeze. Lucy peered in at the doorway. She held her nose at the stale air. Thick dust covered the furniture in the house. Though it appeared no one had lived here for a long time, she could tell from the positioning of things that its owner had left in a hurry. Eating utensils piled up in the kitchen sink. A few books lay strewn on the table and benches. A dust covered coat was draped over a chair. _

"_What's this?" she said in a small voice._

_A quiet voice answered her. "Ur's house."_

"_Huh?"_

_Gray stood beside her, facing the doorway._

"_Ur's………."_

"_From the time when she left with Leon to search for me."_

_His face was calm, but she sensed the underlying sadness and regret in his demeanor._

"_So this is the house you used to live in," Natsu said, trying to dust off the white coating one of the chairs._

_The chair fell apart into crumbled wood._

_Natsu jumped back. He swiveled his head around to look at Gray. _

"_I… I didn't do anything. I was just –" _

"_Natsu," Lucy wailed. _

_But the expected fight did not occur. _

"_You two head back to the guild. I want to say here a bit," Gray said, still calm. He cast his gaze around the room._

"_O-Oi," Natsu responded with a furrow between his eyes. "Lucy, let's go." He was keen to get out with Gray relenting. He stole through the door and grabbed Lucy's hand._

"_Hey…" she protested, unsure of the sudden turn of event. She turned her head around as Natsu pulled her away, and saw Gray's back, a lone back that appeared to melt into the picture of frozen time. _

"_Gray…"_

One year had passed.

"Gray…"

One year since Gray's disappearance.

* * *

**OOC:** This is my first Fairy Tail fanfic. Many old and some new characters will come into play. If you haven't read passed Chapter 163 and don't want to be spoiled, don't read this story.

I'm writing this story out of my passion for Fairy Tail. I hope it'll be an enjoyable journey for both me and you readers. Reviews are welcome.

As the old saying goes: Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. :D


	2. Castanea

**Castanea**

Natsu, Lucy and Happy left for the town of Castanea. Castanea was a backwater town north east of Magnolia, a place that had recently come into some wealth through a mining boom. The strange thing was, even though it was supposedly a mining boom, nothing was exported nor sold.

Natsu's team arrived at the Magic shop as written in the request to meet their client. The magic shop presented a traditional front. Heavy curtains blocked out the sunlight into the shop. The shop's dim interior boasted the usual trinkets and items in, again, a traditional shop. Crystals sat on plush but smelly cushions. Packs of cards were stacked on top of one another. Jars with questionable content lined the shelves. Ignoring all these intrigues, Natsu strode up to the counter. He was barely aware of Lucy hanging a few steps back, unnerved by the strangely ominous atmosphere in here.

"Hello, we're here for the request," he called and put one elbow on the wooden counter.

No immediate reply.

"Hello, we're here for the request," he repeated and leaned over the counter to peer through the doorway behind it, but he couldn't see much as a velvet curtain hung down from the ceiling.

Happy had seated himself in front of a large crystal and was busily examining it. The crystal magnified his feline and non-feline features into something comical.

"Too many…. So… so many fish. Arrrr," the cat said to himself dreamily.

"Hey, Happy…." Lucy said, not daring to touch anything in the shop.

"Hellooooo!!!" Natsu called and leaned in more, his hand came down and slipped on a pack of cards. He righted himself and looked at the cards spread on the counter.

"I see, you're Natsu the Dragonslayer. The cards are also saying your mission will be successful."

"They can tell?"

"So you think we'll definitely get this request done!" Lucy said.

Ignoring her lack of confidence in the outcome of the mission, Natsu looked up and up and up to find the source of the voice. "But how did…" His jaw dropped.

"Fish… Fish…" Happy mumbled.

Lucy's eyes bulged in their sockets.

The woman or man standing behind the counter was all wrinkled. The heart-shaped, wrinkled face might have once been that of a young woman's. The fringe was drawn back and tied slightly to the left of the centre of the head. Much like Mirajane's. He wore a devil's hat like Master Makarov, but the colour was yellow and red and it was too small for his/her head. A few long strands of white blonde hair escaped the hat (Maybe that was all the hair he/she had) to hang listlessly before his/her flat chest. The client was tall and gaunt, so tall that his/her hat was squashed against the ceiling.

"How…" Lucy recovered first. "How did you know Natsu?"

Natsu deflated. Lucy's words snapped him out of his daze.

"Hohoho. These cards have revealed everything."

The Stellar Spirit mage moved closer to the counter, intrigued. She looked at the cards. They were just normal tarot cards. She didn't look convinced.

"Heh. What useful cards. What else can you tell from them?" Natsu said eagerly.

"That you had called me three times before I showed myself."

"Correct!" he grinned and missed Lucy's mumbling "Of course he knew. He heard you before he walked through that door!"

"Can you tell where Gray is now?" the Dragonslayer asked.

His client paused as his gaze searched the cards. "Unfortunately, no. These cards lose their potency three minutes after I lay eyes on them."

"Can cards be potent?!" Lucy said in a half strangled voice.

"That's a shame," Natsu said and accepted the apparition's explanation. "So what's it you want us to do?"

"That's it?" Lucy said in exasperation.

The client attempted to cock his/her head, and the motion produced a grating noise against the ceiling. "Ouch. Well, as you might have known, this town is earning money from the mining company but it's not producing anything that's worth selling. Even the workers themselves know nothing of what they're digging for. They were just told to dig, pile the dirt to a side, and that's it. I've put up notices in guilds, hoping for someone to solve this riddle. Of course it's good that money's flowing in, but everything sounds so fishy."

Natsu nodded repeatedly during the client's explanation. "No problem. Fairy Tail will get it done in no time. You just wait here for the good news." He turned around, saw Happy staring at the crystal and grabbed the cat with one hand. The cat yelled "My fish, my fish, my fish!" as his gaze was torn from the globe. Natsu pushed open the door. Lucy followed.

* * *

The abandoned mine sat under the forlorn gaze of the moon. Only the sound of insects showed any signs of life. Two people and one cat slipped into one of the tunnels. Once they were inside, the Dragonslayer lit Lucy's torch with his hand and held a ball of fire as he led them into the mine.

"How're we going to find what they're digging for?" Lucy raised the question.

Natsu raised his eyebrow. Does she even have to ask? He held back his arm and pushed up his sleeve.

"Blast it down of course!"

Fire burned brighter on his fist.

"Wait, wait, wait. Wait a minute," she said as she waved her hands in objection with a distressed look on her face.

"What's the point of us sneaking in if you're just gonna blast it apart? And what if you end up destroying what the client's looking for?"

He paused in mid-strike. Lucky liked to contradict him but her points were usually valid. A thought reproached him, asking why he didn't think of something so obvious. He brushed the thought aside.

"So what do we do?"

"You're asking me!"

Lucy's face screwed up in concentration.

"Oh…" Natsu and Happy watched her in anticipation.

"Um……" The furrow deepened in Lucy's brow.

"Oh…."

"Um…..." she suddenly pointed at the deeper and darker end of the tunnel. "We'll keep moving in and see what we come across." She started walking quickly without looking at him.

"Tsk," Natsu made a noise in disappointment. "Can't you do better?"

"Why, you're no better than me!" she retorted.

"Lucy can only think straight," Happy commented.

"Don't you say anything. You're just a cat."

As they headed deeper into the mine, the gloom grew. Their footfalls sounded too loud in their ears, and the journey stretched and turned timeless.

"This tunnel is so long," Happy observed.

Natsu was now walking in front of Lucy. Impatience was getting the better of him.

"Hey Lucy. I'll race you up ahead."

"No…. You go on," she said. "I'm tired."

"Already?" he said. Lucy always got tired too easily. That can't be helped. He'll have to leave her here. "Happy, let's go."

The cat nodded.

Natsu didn't know how long he had been running. He had already forgotten the number of turns and curves he had taken. Was it five or ten? How far did he have to run? Just how long did it take the workers to dig this far? What should he have for breakfast? Natsu and Happy's shadows chased them through the run.

At last, they came to a dead end.

Natsu stared at the wall. What now? He didn't see anything out of the ordinary in the tunnel, and the end didn't look any different from normal rock and soil. He crossed his arms. Should he turn back? He automatically banished that option. He was already here. No point in leaving without finding out something. Besides, the tarot cards knew he'd succeed in this mission. All he needed was to act like he always did.

Flame lit up his fist.

"But Lucy…" Happy didn't get far.

"Is not here. She won't know," he assured the cat.

His fist connected with the end of the tunnel. Cracks fissured across the rough surface of the rock. As expected, the end crumbled. Natsu readied his other fist to push it into the thicker layer of the rock… He stopped in mid-motion. The crumbled rock had revealed behind it a large empty space.

"Look, more tunnels!" Happy said.

Including the one Natsu had emerged from, he could see five tunnel mouths, almost matching the number of entrances he saw outside the mine.

"There's nothing here," he said. He walked into the middle of the space.

A blast called his attention to its source. A new tunnel mouth had opened.

"That makes the 6th tunnel," Happy concluded. Yes. Now the number matched the number of entrances to the mine.

Two figures emerged from the new tunnel. One was a man dressed in a blue trench coat. His gaze caught Natsu's and his expression turned irritable. He looked to be in his thirties. A moustache adorned his rough face. The other person was a woman, wearing a flaring dress as if she was attending a ball. A red feather was stuck, lopsided, in her brown hair. Light wrinkles lined her brow. Irritation also set in once she saw Natsu.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Sorry, can't let you have it." The man said at the same time.

Startled at the man's words, Natsu's reaction slowed a notch in responding to the attack. The man's fist sent the Fairy flying back to hit the wall with a sickening crunch.

"Natsu!" Happy yelled.

"A… a talking and flying cat?" the woman said in disbelief, mouth agape at the cat flying above her. Her eyes narrowed in fury.

Rose petals appeared in thin air. Ten, thirty, fifty of them? Dazzled by the number of petals, Happy heard the alarm ringing in his head as every petal shifted simultaneously to point at him. They looked anything but soft.

"Arrrrr!" he exclaimed as the petals shot after him. He took flight.

The man didn't give Natsu a minute of rest. A punch closed in with another. The Dragonslayer managed to put his arms up before his face to take the consecutive attacks. Happy looped over his head, followed by a horde of angry petals. The pounding on Natsu's arms sent shockwaves up his brain. He gritted his teeth. He needed to draw some distance between them. Natsu let down his arms. While the man's fist was about to rain down on his face, he dropped to his knees and attempted to escape to a side – a kneecap rushed up to meet him. He slid sideway just in time to avoid a direct hit. The kneecap brushed his chin. The force imbalanced him and he half-staggered, half-rolled out of the man's reach. The Dragonslayer placed a hand on the ground to steady himself and quickly scrambled to his feet. As he thought, the man was already on him. Natsu drew his elbow past his face, his left knee bent and his right leg stretched behind him.

The fist of flame connected with the man's fist.

Fire traveled up the man's arm as he was pushed back by the impact, his feet drawing furrows in the ground as he slid backward. Natsu was sent flying again, this time colliding with Happy who was doing his second loop. The two fell in a heap. The petals descended. Razor sharp, the petals inflicted wounds and scratches on the two. Natsu grabbed Happy and threw him away from the petals swarming them like flies. Tears stung Happy's eyes as he was spit out of the swarm, but – _no way_. The petals began to reorient themselves on him.

"You're not getting away," Natsu growled and placed his hands before his mouth, fingers curved to shape a tube.

Fire shot through his cupped hands and engulfed the petals.

Yet, they weren't burning.

_Then how about this!_

As he was about to intensify the heat, he sensed motion from behind. Save Happy or himself first? This thought didn't even surface in his mind. Natsu kept blowing out fire. The orange flame turned molten red.

Pain exploded across the back of his head. The petals blackened to disintegrate into fine ashes. Natsu's face hit the ground. A green light suffused his prone body. The man looked around. The green light had covered the entire ground. He didn't notice it before as he was busy fighting. The woman was eyeing Happy with venom in her brown eyes.

"Forget the cat," the man said. He watched the ground intently.

The light was getting brighter. Happy flew back to Natsu's side and hugged his friend's head.

Something was forming in the air.

* * *

"What's this light?" Lucy said inside Horologium just at the exit of the tunnel. Light shimmered in the air.

"La… Me…" she tried to sound out the words in that light.

* * *

**OOC: **Thanks for those who reviewed the prologue. Hope you enjoy this subsequent chapter. It was a challenge to write from Natsu's point of view as he thinks so differently. I hope I got his character right.


	3. Lingering feelings

**Lingering feelings**

Natsu's state gave Lucy an uneasy feeling. The Dragonslayer was strong. Who could best him in a fight? His most humiliating fight was probably with Fukurou. He could have turned dead meat if not for Grey. Lucy's gaze flitted intermittently to Horologium as she, Happy and the Celestial Spirit walked back to the magic shop. She had examined Natsu's head back in the tunnel and had administered some simple emergency treatment – mainly putting on band-aids and wrapped bandages around Natsu and Happy's wounds. She shook her head. It'd take a whole mountain to do Natsu in. The Dragonslayer looked to have been knocked out rather than in a dying state.

"I see you've returned. What did you find out?" the client said. The shop owner, whatever his/her name was, was already waiting for them. The client looked at the curled up Natsu inside Horologium.

"What's happened to him?"

"He-" Lucy began.

Natsu chose this moment to wake up. He shot up and his head banged heavily against Horologium's wooden body. Wide-eyed, he stared through the glass door, working his mouth inaudibly.

"Where's that guy gone? I've to beat the crap out of him. Where am I? Hey, let me out – He says."

"Let him out," Lucy sighed, putting a hand on her temple.

The glass door swung outward. Natsu, who had both his hands on the door, fell onto the floor.

"Natsu," Happy said with a smile.

"Happy," Natsu looked around. "Lucy and –" he searched for words since he didn't know the name of his client. "Gramps," he decided.

The client took a step back in a fluster. The client coughed to cover the mishap. Natsu stood up.

"You were unconscious, so I got Horologium to carry you over," Lucy said.

"Where's that guy? I want a rematch," the Dragonslayer said and made for the door. He was pulled up short with one end of his scarf in Lucy's unsympathetic hand.

"We've more important thing to do. Besides, do you know where that guy went?"

"No."

Lucy sighed. "Back to the topic," she addressed the client. "All I saw were words in that light," she shot her next words at Natsu, "Didn't see any of your attackers after that light faded."

"The words I saw were Laresme no novski."

"Lare… ski?" Happy echoed.

"Laresme no novski," she said firmly. "That's the ancient language of the Tobac people."

"Tobac?" Natsu said, "What's that?"

Lucy puffed her chest out. "They lived in this landmass before the continent Aralan broke apart. The Tobac people don't exist anymore."

"Woh," Natsu and Happy expressed their admiration.

"But what does Lares…. ski mean?"

"Laresme no novski," Lucy said. "I've no idea."

"Um…. Interesting. Words of an ancient people. Is there anything else? What do you mean by attackers?" the client said.

"Ah!" Natsu hit his palm with his right fist. "That guy was saying how he wouldn't let us have it. Can "it" be those words?"

"Hum…."

"I'm sorry. The mission's a failure," Lucy said, dejected.

"It's not an entire failure. You did find that Lareme thing. The tarot cards were right," Natsu gave her an encouraging slap on the back but earned himself a dark look instead.

"Natsu's right of course. Lucy, go find out what the words mean."

The Stellar Spirit mage gave a hesitant nod. Find out the words? This is ancient Tobacian language! Hang on, did the tarot cards tell her client her name too? Or maybe she herself has become famous?

* * *

A school of fish with antennas on their heads and tails twice the size of their bodies swam past the armoured figure. Erza paid the exotic creatures little heed as she swam deeper and deeper into the depth of the ocean. Right now, she was clad in light weight magic armour. This suit of blue armour could withstand the tremendous pressure underwater, and it allowed its user to breathe as if she was on land. It was one of the many rare armours that had made its way into Erza's priced collection. Erza had also tied a glow fish to her helmet to provide light in this darkness.

Titantia. One could say it was Erza's brand name. It was this trademark of hers, unwanted, that had given her both advantages and trouble. More trouble than it was worth most of the time. This time, the name might not have played as big a hand in her current predicament as it had in the past. Still, she felt it responsible… or perhaps, she just wanted it to be responsible so she could ignore her feelings for a particular individual.

Erza squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to shake off that thought.

The ocean was livelier and more colourful than she had imagined. She liked swimming but she had never needed to dive so deep. The temperature increased significantly once she swam past a certain threshold, an invisible line dividing the ocean apart into different temperature zones. The heat embracing Erza suited her mood, and she felt her fury burning hotter and hotter.

_I just need to get this done, don't I?_

Reaching the bottom of the ocean, she saw a ship sleeping on the floor of fine sand. Her eyes lit up at the crest carved into the stern. This was the famous vessel hat was rumoured to be the fastest of the largest sea vessels on earth. The news of its demise, however, ran a bigger headline than when it was first made known to the public. Since there were no survivors in the tragedy and no eyewitnesses, all sorts of nonsense had sprouted on how the ship was sunk. A lightning storm. A sea monster. A tidal wave. A failure of magical power that drove the engine. Erza had even heard of a version about the passengers fighting, killing each other off so the unmanned ship was let adrift to eventually sink into its chosen grave.

This ship met its death a month ago.

Erza looked around. She prodded the glow fish with a finger. The glow of light spread. Death had its own distinctive smell, and that stench was heavy in the faintly luminous blue of the sea. Erza had an urge to leave as quickly as possible, but first…

Uh, there it is. The ocean's plug.

For an ocean's plug, the plug was smaller than one could imagine. It was a simple white, polished rock the size of a human's head. Erza put her hands on each side of the rock.

She hesitated.

Much was unknown about the ocean's plugs. Several plugs were scattered across the sea floor. No one had yet to research about them. No one had yet to pull one out. What did Council member Kiluven want with it? What would Erza trigger if she removed the plug? She stared at the rock, her hands seemingly glued to it. The council had issued Fairy Tail plenty of warnings and even trial orders in the past, so she wasn't that worried about Kiluven slamming them with one more warning for interfering with the arrest of a criminal. But the life of Gérard was another matter… She tightened her grip at the memory of their last parting. She had let the council take him. He had no memories of his past action, but he remained responsible for them. No one could fault the council for taking him into custody… but she _had let them take him_. She _had let him go_. If anything were to happen to him, his blood would be on her hands…

"ARRR!!!" she exclaimed and brought down all her strength to lift the plug.

Despite its tiny look, the plug resisted her. Erza strained against the rock. A vein showed in her temple. Her arm muscles protested.

"ARRR!!!"

Her feet sank into the sand. Who would have thought this tiny rock to be so heavy? She relaxed her grip and tried again. She glared at the stubborn rock.

A spade appeared in her hand. She slid its tip between the soft sand and the base of the plug. She pushed down on the handle and leaned her body on it. The plug wobbled. She added more strength. It looked like she had found the key to the puzzle.

The plug came loose, rolling away from the depression it had been sitting on for thousands of years.

A sudden chill saturated the ocean floor. Erza froze. No. That chill was concentrating in this spot alone. She stepped back from the depression that was nothing but a lowered surface. The chill turned colder. And it took Erza a moment to realise it wasn't a physical chill.

The chill flooded her heart.

"Erza!" Gérard's anguished and venomous voice shook her. Cold sweat broke on the mage's shocked face. Did she just imagine his cry? What magic was this?

A black stain oozed out of the depression and within it, letters of an even darker black emerged.

"Losemacre Emon Luta."


	4. Bonds

**Bonds**

"Lucy!"

"Levy!"

The girls hugged each other.

"Oi, Natsu, did you find Gray?" Wakaba said from his seat behind one of the long tables. Smoke curled from his pipe.

"You bastard," Natsu shifted his attention from the girls to him, his eyes gleaming red. "That info you gave me was trash," he roared and dived for the startled mage.

Beer bottles flew amidst thumping fists. Tables were knocked over. Shouts and yells ricocheted off the walls, and soon, the fight had spread to the entire hall. The fire in Natsu's chest burnt, burnt and burnt as the Dragonslayer hit anyone standing in his path. Something felt wrong though. The tightening in his chest smothered…. and eventually died. His fists found fewer and fewer targets, his mental exhaustion spreading like cold water to his every limb. The fight died as quickly as it started. Even Master Makarov did not have to make an appearance to stop the usual brawl that accompanied the return of Natsu's team.

Sitting crossed-legged amidst hesitant mages and scattered utensils, the Dragonslayer stared sightlessly at the floor. Irritation rose within him. What is it? Why isn't he satisfied? Where's the voice yelling him to stop? Why aren't his fists blocked properly? He's got to get him put some clothes on…

"Come on, Natsu."

A large barrel dropped before him. Kana was leaning on it.

"If you're a man," Elfman said, crooking his arm with his fist raised, "Then down the entire barrel."

The pink-haired young man raised his head. All of his irritation poured into the barrel. No challenge would stop the Salamander! Wordlessly, he picked up the barrel, still sitting, and lifted it up with his head tilted back. Beer flowed into his mouth.

Silence descended on the hall. The only sound was of Natsu swallowing one mouthful after another. His senses began to dull, yet memories flooded him the more he drank.

"U… m…. Le ma bi ya…."

His eyelids dropped over his glazed eyes. The barrel fell into his lap as his head leaned against it with his arms encircling Kana's barrel.

"Natsu…" Happy watched from above.

* * *

Lucy relayed the event to Mirajane and Levy in place of Natsu. Everyone else was picking bits and pieces off the floor and putting the hall back in order.

"The ancient language?" Levy said with a confident smile. "Don't you worry. I'll get that sorted out in no time." She wrote the words on a piece of paper and began reading from one of the books in her collection.

"Any news from Erza?" Lucy asked Mirajane.

Fairy Tail's icon snapped back from wild imagination of the half-Mira, half-Master Makarov apparition that Lucy had described. "Nothing. She hasn't contacted the guild since leaving us three months ago."

Lucy put a hand beneath her chin. Erza had bullied Natsu into finding Gray the day she left for personal reason. Looking at the current Natsu sleeping on a bench with his mouth open, she wished the stern leader of their team was here.

"He'll sleep it off," Mirajane said with a hand on her shoulder.

The Stellar Spirit mage nodded. She had never seen him get drunk, though too many times had she seen him get sick from riding a vehicle.

_Gray, where are you?_

_

* * *

  
_

Rain. The incessant rain that pursued her day and night was back. Her ray of light was gone, snuffed out like the life of an ant. Heavy dark clouds had closed over the small village. Juvia detested herself for being so weak at heart. What would Gray-sama say if he saw her reverted back to the old self? But… But Gray-sama was nowhere to be found! In the eight months of travel since leaving Fairy Tail, Juvia had trekked through mountains, sailed across the sea, walked through many towns and cities, visited Ur's house…

"_Eat it this way."_

The once Element 4 turned Fairy Tail member held the bread with elbows raised high above. She shoved the bread into her mouth the way Gray had taught her. Tears splashed her cheeks wet.

The door to the only inn in the village opened.

"Damn that ice mage, my finger almost froze off my hand!"

Juvia's eyes widened and she twisted around without relaxing her eating pose.

"What're you staring at, woman?" the man demanded. A huge hammer was slung behind his back. Icicles were visible in his sandy hair. Juvia's eyes bulged as she mumbled.

"Ha?"

Incoherent gibberish was muffled by the bread.

The man gave her a dismissive wave and headed for the counter.

The bread slid down Juvia's throat.

"You!" she said slowly in an ominous voice. "What did you do to Gray-sama?"

The man stopped in mid-stride and turned around. "Ha? Gray who?"

"What did you do to Gray-sama?" she repeated, pointing a finger at him. "The icicle in your hair."

Realisation dawned on his rough face. "Oh, you're with his group, aren't you?"

_His group?_

"I got his head crushed beneath my ham…." He suddenly found himself choking. A ball of water held him off the floor. The innkeeper had wisely hidden himself, crouched behind the counter.

"What did you do to Gray-sama? I'll have you tell me everything," the water mage drawled with her eyes narrowed.


	5. Water and Ice

**Water and Ice**

"Who's there?" the man shouted.

Juvia froze in her hiding place but she could feel the man's gaze on the bush shielding her. She waited a few seconds more. Maybe he meant someone else.

"Stop hiding. I know you're there," he said.

She stood up on reluctant legs. She strode out from behind the bush, dragging the hammer man with her.

"Ok……." The man with white hair said, his eyebrows raised. "So you think an ally can……." He frowned, taking in the state of the hammer man.

"You look worse than I last saw you."

His gaze lifted to find Juvia's. There was no fear and anger in his eyes, just cool curiosity.

"Not Gray-sama."

Juvia let go of the man's collar.

Dark clouds raced in to cut off the sunshine bathing her in its radiance. Three seconds later, a downpour tipped from heaven's rim.

Patter. Patter.

What was she to do? She was so sure it was Gray-sama. What more did she have to do to find him? She had searched for him high and low…. No, eight months? Had it even been one year? After all, this world was too vast for a person to traverse its entirety in mere eight months. But…. But…

Patter. Patter.

She couldn't bear it. Waiting for him to return for a mission was one thing (though it still galled her that he was with Lucy even though Juvia had acknowledged Lucy as a friend), knowing he was missing was another. This…. This despair devouring her… She found herself losing the will to fight it. Gray-sama was everything to her. She swallowed and looked down at the hammer man. What a lier. He lied about defeating Gray-sama by crus…..

Juvia's right heel connected with the man's stomach. She kicked, kicked, kicked and kicked –

"Hang on," the man with white hair said suddenly. "Did you say Gray?"

The name pierced through the fog in her mind. Her head snapped around.

"You know him?" she said with her guard up. An enemy or ally?

"How're you related to him?"

This man had shifty eyes.

She clamped her mouth shut. She wouldn't be the first to offer information!

"Are you from Fairy Tail?"

_How?_ She grabbed hold of her necklace in hindsight. What a giveaway.

The man smiled at her reaction. He didn't say more as he turned around.

"Wait!" Juvia said.

A large ice eagle took flight. The beating of its wings as it lifted off the ground sent shards of rain in Juvia's direction. Juvia's gaze caught the man as the eagle carried him higher and higher, braving through the curtain of teardrops. The cloak flapped behind the man's back like a sail.

Beautiful….. Juvia breathed. This elegance…..

She caught herself and shook her head. Of course Gray-sama was better looking! Determination sparked in her eyes. This man could make ice move and he also knew Gray. How were they related?

* * *

Juvia followed the white haired man and his companion at a distance. She could smell the icy scent of the eagle through the rain, so it didn't take her long to track him down.

The current location was Lake Wysteria. A tourist business had thrived around the huge lake, sprouting inns, hotels, souvenir shops, magic photo captures, water sports hire, nature walk….. except the sunny disposition of this tourist hotspot had turned gloomy the moment Juvia stepped in it. The water mage however, cared less about the side effects she brought to both businesses and tourists. She followed the white haired man and booked in the same inn as them.

Over the next few days, the white haired man and his companion, a woman, acted very much like tourists, trying out water skiing, trekking through mud-slicked nature walk, browsing in souvenir shops. While most tourists stayed indoor, this man and his companion spent most of their time outdoor, poking around the lake, dressed in raincoat. Juvia didn't see everything they did as it was difficult to hide without a crowd around. She had tried stopping the rain so to bring out a crowd, but her worry over Gray prevented her from gaining perfect control over her magic.

Today, the water mage sat by the lake in front of a boat hire shop. Hands hugging her knees that were drawn up to her chin, she let the long handle of the umbrella rest in the crook of her arm. She was watching the white haired man and the woman in a boat out in the middle of the lake. Rain drops sent constant ripples to break the surface of the lake.

What were they doing? When was he going to show her the way to Gray-sama? Juvia didn't think he was a bad man, remembering how he had left on an eagle without a curse even though she was the cause of the rain. He was soaked through, but he didn't say anything more. This man also enjoyed the company of his comrade, just like Gray. They seemed to be having fun….. but even Juvia could tell this was no mere sightseeing trip.

What was he doing?

A flash of lightning lit up the sky. The universe seemed to swallow Juvia whole. Oh no……. What_ was _she doing? Following them and watching them gallivant all over the place. She could have just walked up to him and asked!

She stood up. The umbrella fell unnoticed from her arm. She ran to the waterline, sinking her booted feet into the water.

"Hey, where is Gray-sama?" she called to the party out in the lake. She waved with arms held high, jumping up and down, knee-deep in water.

For some reason, the woman with the white haired man started waving _back_ at her. She was pointing and mouthing something, but her words were lost in the rain.

_Huh?_

And Juvia felt it, a presence so familiar she was surprised it took her a while to identify him. She fell face down into the water as a fist of air sailed over her head. She rolled over and climbed to her feet. Getting soaked all over didn't bother her. She was a rain woman after all.

"Aria."

"Oh, Juvia. Such happiness at reuniting with a former comrade. So happy. I'm so happy."

Tears flowed down Aria's covered eyes. But….. Happy?

_So sad. So sad._ That was how he used to be.

"Why are you attacking me?" Juvia demanded. She wasn't particularly joyous to see him. Not that they had much to say to each other when they were in the same guild. Aria never knew to shut up with his tirade. "So sad. So sad." Besides, the most powerful of the 4 Elements was _old. _Juvia was only interested in handsome looking man back then.

"See how happy I am? Be happy. This is how you should live life."

Sensing danger, Juvia collapsed into water and avoided Aria's Metsu in the neck of time. She reformed a few paces from her original spot. It would have been really bad if she got caught in that and had all her magic drained.

Geysers of water shot towards Aria. The blindfolded man countered with blasts of air. Boom. Boom. Boom. Water droplets filled the air.

"So happy," Aria intoned. "So happy to see you leave, Juvia."

Juvia ran along the shore. The explosion of air and water had created a mist that enveloped the two former Element 4 members. Juvia suddenly stopped. Straining her eyes and ears, she tried to pinpoint Aria's location.

Patter. Patter.

The steady rain descended, unceasing.

Juvia's eyes widened.

"Water lock!"

And simultaneously found herself breathing in – nothing. Her knees buckled as she abruptly fell into a sitting position. Her right hand reached out, beseeching. Her eyes were still on him. Yes. She saw him, perfectly encased in her water with arms flailing. Who would give out first? Her vision blurred. Drowsiness stole over her. Gray…

A lance of white broke into the ball of water and entered Aria's chest.

Sweet air flooded her lungs.

"This is all for love," a woman's voice shouted.

Huge footsteps shook the earth as red petals spiraled into the sky.

_What… What's going on? _But Juvia couldn't concentrate. Head lowered, she just breathed and breathed in the sweetness of life.

* * *

"Even though he's out of my reach, I'll still persist for the sake of love," Sherry lamented. At her command, the giant rat pounded its huge paw down and flattened a few trees in its agony. Red petals raked its hide.

"Angelica, don't lose hope," Sherry urged over the rat's monster-like moaning.

A section of the lake connected to the shore was frozen into ice. On it skated Leon and his opponent, a man in a blue trench coat. Aria was kneeling on the shore, his two meaty hands pulling on the ice shaft piercing his chest. Blood gushed out.

"How about this!" Leon shouted.

Ice snaked up the enemy's wrist – and pulled. The man slid across the ice. Grunting, he pounded his left fist into the ice tied around his wrist, shattering it.

Leon drew in a breath.

An iced lion charged the man. With two hands in front of him, the man took the lion's charge head on and was pushed a few meters back.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

A roar challenged the lion. The ice beneath the man's feet cracked as he lifted the lion up and tossed it straight back at its creator.

Leon sidestepped the lion.

On the other side of the ice, Angelica fell with a resounding thump.

"How dare you do that to Angelica," Sherry said with fury. A giant golem rose up from the earth.

A mocking laugh pealed from Sherry's opponent.

The buzz of petals rose to pitch. In one split second, a huge crowd of petals had swarmed the golem and it began cutting away bits then chunks of earth from the golem's body. Battling the petals, the golem took a decisive step forward. It headed inexorably for the woman in red dress.

The shaft of ice, strangely beautiful with its bloodied surface, fell amidst rain-drenched grass.

"Ah, such happiness," Aria wailed.

A blast of air shook the golem. A second blast caused it to totter. A third blast severed its arm from the shoulder.

Aria panted.

"Stop showing off when you're nearly dead," the woman said.

The golem continued forward. Two more steps and it was about to reach the woman.

"Hey, dead already?" the woman yelled.

A weaker blast of air failed to break the golem's stride.

"Nathaniel!" the woman called.

The eagle was on its third sweep when it released its prey from its claw. A loud bang sounded as the man hit the ice. Without a word, he swiftly climbed back to his feet and ran to Aria with unexpected speed. The woman pulled back from the golem. The man picked Aria up, slung him over a shoulder and took to running.

"Not bad," Leon said beside Sherry.

"This is all for love," Sherry responded with hands clasped together, watching the golem fall into pieces under its final stage of destruction. The red petals were withdrawing, pulling loose from the crumbing earth.

Leon walked over to Juvia. Sherry turned around with her gaze on his back.

"Let's get you dried up. Then we can talk."

* * *

**OOC: **Thank you for reading and reviewing previous chapters! Hope you enjoy this chapter too.


	6. Ancient words

**Ancient words**

Council member Kiluven sat on the bed. The single room he had rent in this inn must have once housed the relatives of the deceased in the bottom of the ocean. This area had seen an unprecedented rise in business due to relatives and friends flocking over to take ship to sea, to that tragic scene, the location of that horrifying event no one had foreseen.

He understood their anguish. How could he not when he had once experienced the same loss? But he would purge this feeling soon. No one would have to bear this loss in the near future. The sacrifices would be sacrifices no more. That was certain.

A knock on the door.

"Come in. It's not locked."

Erza Scarlet's sombre face appeared. Erza, party to the team that defeated Deliora was the perfect candidate for his plan. He would have her help him complete his revenge against the monster. This woman was strong too. The blessing of God, if there was one, must be shining on him. What good timing for the imprisonment of Gérard just when he was to put his plan to action.

"What is your objective?" Erza asked in a quiet voice.

"We're heading to Lake Wysteria next."

"Answer me," she demanded.

"For your service, I had Gérard moved to a better cell. He now has his own bed and a window with bars."

Erza's face reddened in fury.

"I'm tired. We've an early morning tomorrow."

The banging of the door shook the entire room.

"What an ill-mannered girl," Kiluven murmured.

The words Erza saw at the bottom of the ocean rose in his mind.

_Losemacre Emon Luta._

"Only dark abyss awaits."

* * *

"Laresme no novski. What do you look forward to?" Levy said. Jet and Droy hovered behind her as usual.

"As expected of Levy," Jet praised.

Droy whistled.

Levy smiled. If a smile could kill, Jet and Droy would have fallen by her feet with contentment. Lucy sighed. Levy was such a smart girl but when it came to love, she was as dense as Natsu.

"Nice," Natsu said in admiration as if he knew what the sentence meant.

Lucy drew her gaze back to the writing on Levy's paper, irritated. Irritated but not knowing why. The thought of chasing that irritation to its source fled. As always, she found it hard to grasp hold of its tail.

"This is most probably a line by the famous poet Ilyon," she said.

"Do you know this guy?" Natsu asked.

"He's been dead for thousands of years," she said. "The Tobacians were very subtle with their expressions in literature. Ilyon was the only one who wrote explicitly using explicit terms to describe human emotions."

"You sure are knowledgeable," he said sincerely.

Lucy puffed her chest out, the irritation in her evaporating in an instant.

"I can't read Tobacian, but I've read every single translation of Ilyon's work."

"Do you recognise this line?" Levy asked.

"Um……. Not quiet," she frowned for a moment then her eyes shone. "Maybe this comes from a poem that hasn't been translated yet."

"But why is this line magic?" Happy asked around a mouthful of fish.

Everyone looked at him.

"Is Ilyon a magician?" he asked.

Happy's questions had turned the focus to the heart of the matter. Lucy didn't know whether to strangle the cat in gratitude or exasperation. Happy sure had a knack of pointing out the obvious!

"No…." she said. "I don't think so. Nothing's been said of his being a magician."

"But what does that magic do other than showing you the words?" Mirajane said. She had been listening in as she wiped wine glasses at the bar. "Do you feel any different after that incident?"

"Not really," she said immediately.

"Lucy's as whinny as ever. And I got scratches all over my body," Happy commented.

"Excuse me!" Lucy said, pouring all her murderous intention onto the cat.

Mirajane frowned in concentration. "Then maybe it's just magic to store long lost knowledge. Erza's magic can store her swords and armours. There exists magic to store words too."

"Well, the client just wants to know what the words mean," Natsu said.

For once, the Dragonslayer was being helpful without getting violent.

"That's right. We've to get the words back to him to get the remaining payment!"

"All right. Let's get going," Natsu said, all pumped up for the money.

* * *

"Just to get this straight, I don't know where Gray is."

Juvia's face fell. She and her two rescuers were back at the inn. They had reconvened after waiting for Juvia to take a hot shower and get changed. The first word out of the white-haired man was a big disappointment.

"But you…"

"They've the same master," the pink-haired woman said.

The white-haired man looked away.

The same master? So this man and Gray-sama studied magic together?

"I'm Sherry and this is Leon. We're from Lamia Scale-"

"Do you not know where Gray is?" Leon said and shot his companion a look.

"Juvia," Juvia said, wondering what Leon was hiding. "Gray-sama has been missing for months, so I'm looking for him."

"Heh, so he can't even look after himself."

She stood up abruptly, knocking the chair onto the floor. "Gray-sama looks after Juvia. He's a capable man with a kind heart." She glared at him.

Something seemed to shift in Leon's eyes, as if he had taken her measure and made a decision.

"And why are you targeted, former Element 4."

Dangerous. What a dangerous man.

"I don't know," she said honestly. Why did Aria target her? Revenge for abandoning Phantom Lord guild? That was the most plausible explanation. She couldn't recall him holding a personal grudge against her over anything else. To a former Phantom Lord guild member, the biggest crime was to leave the guild and join the enemy guild.

"Maybe… Maybe because I joined Fairy Tail," she said with uncertainty.

Leon was silent for a while.

"Anyway, he's not here. You're better off searching for him elsewhere."

"Do you… Do you have an idea where Gray-sama might be?"

Leon turned thoughtful. "Ur's…"

"I've already searched there."

"Then perhaps Delphinium."

"Delphinium?"

Leon looked straight at her. "It's that guy's hometown."

* * *

**OOC:** Thanks for reading and reviewing.

That's interesting, Kerykeion. I actually didn't think of Juvia x Leon when writing the chapter… but I was interested in how Juvia would react if she's presented with a Gray look-a-like in terms of having the same ice ability.

YokoTenshi-chan – Even though he's happy, Aria is still as scary as ever!


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